Trey Lamar has lived his entire life in Tate County and is dedicated to seeing it thrive and grow.
An article on a Mississippi news website criticizing Lamar's use of state funds with mudslinging made headlines recently but Lamar wants to clear the air on what the money was actually spent on and why.
“It is not my nature to boast about these monumental achievements that help so many people at home and across our state that I have personally worked on, but after the half-truths and innuendos that have been recklessly spread by some in the media and a few locals that mean harm to myself and my family it is time for the citizens of Tate County and this state to know the truth,” said Lamar.
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Highland Hills Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Josh Hammons said Lamar’s efforts are far more than headlines would suggest.
“As a member of the local council of governments, I have the privilege of seeing the full scope of Trey's efforts. His work goes far beyond headlines—he's consistently helped our community and people across the entire state. Trey brings real solutions that benefit everyone, not just a select few,” said Hammons.
A central accusation against Lamar was that he had secured $2.5 million in upgrades to Country Club Road which runs close to Lamar’s residence and another $2.4 million for projects on the private Back Acres Country Club golf course.
However, the project was started years prior when Lamar was still in law school.
Former Tate County District 1 Supervisor Cam Walker released a statement concerning the matter. The statement was included in public records released to prior requests.
“The Country Club Road safety and improvement project in Tate County originated shortly after I took office as supervisor of District 1 in 2004. At that time, Mississippi State Highway 740 had just been completed which placed a lot more traffic on Country Club Road than in years past as people living out in Tate and Panola Counties were using the road as a quicker route to get to Interstate 55. As supervisor, I negotiated a deal with farmer and landowner Mike Massey (MRM Farms) where Mr. Massey agreed to donate approximately five acres of right of way to Tate County in exchange for the county straightening a dangerous 90-degree curve and replacing an old bridge located in this curve,” said Walker.
The board was advised by the county engineer the U.S. Corps of Engineers would help the county fund the project where at least two people had died due to the unsafe conditions.
“Over the years, additional residential subdivisions continued to be built adjacent to Country Club Road increasing traffic and making the road even less safe. The road had dangerous intersections and at least two steep hills that prevented passengers from seeing oncoming traffic due to an impaired line of sight,” said Walker.
During several county Board of Supervisor meetings, numerous Tate County residents appeared to demand improvements to the road.
As far as the funding, for the private golf course, which was actually for drainage ditches surrounding the green, was needed due to damage caused from the initial road improvements. Lamar explained that in addition to the road corrections, the Corps of Engineers approved two drainage easements which ended up causing flooding on private properties surrounding the golf course.
“It was due to several issues evolving over time which caused the damage to properties,” said Lamar.
Over the past five years beginning in 2019, Lamar has helped secure funding for approximately 128 miles of Tate County roads. The Country Club Road project was only two of the 128 miles. In total, Lamar has secured about $40 million earmarked for Tate County roads. The article also insinuated Lamar had a hand in persuading the City of Senatobia to purchase New Image Water Association for his own benefit. However, that is not the case said Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves.
“New Image was owned by one older gentleman. We [the city] were getting calls left and right from people who lived out there wanting us to help because their water was brown. Additionally, as a city, we wanted to be able to develop industry and grow our economy. Separating the country club area from the main city water and sewer lines is a very large area of land which could not be developed because no business will go where they need to pay all the extra expenses to install utilities,” said Graves. “So we approached Trey to see if he could help us find the money to purchase the water association.”
Lamar’s property which is not in the country club is on a private well which he installed upon purchasing his land.
In addition, Lamar secured funding to improve the Cottonville-Savage Water Association serving the community of Arkabutla in Tate County. In fact, Lamar has secured state funding to aid 194 water associations across the entire State of Mississippi.
From 2020 to present, Lamar’s aid in Tate County includes funding both the City of Senatobia and the Town of Coldwater, Senatobia Municipal School District, Tate County School District and Northwest Mississippi Community College, which recently named a new men’s dormitory in Lamar’s honor.
“Prior to 2020 I was able to secure approximately $7 million in additional funding for downtown Senatobia infrastructure improvements and $1.5 million to Tate County that the county used to purchase and develop the new industrial park in Coldwater,” said Lamar.
Outside of Tate County, Lamar’s accomplishments in securing funding stretches from the Tennessee state line to the Gulf Coast. In his position as Chair of Ways and Means, Lamar has authored almost all of the legislation which provides funding in the entire state.
“All told I have played an instrumental part in investing multiple billions of dollars in road, bridge, water and sewer improvements in all 82 counties in Mississippi,” said Lamar.
Some samples include $300 million to widen I-55 in Desoto County and approximately $200 Million to widen Highway 7 in Lafayette County. Additionally, he has helped Madison County, Rankin County, Lamar County, Lee County, Hattiesburg and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast secure millions upon millions of dollars to help service their growing populations.
“Odds are if a Mississippi citizen has seen a bridge or road repair project anywhere in Mississippi in the last five years, I either drafted or handled the legislation that helped to fund that project,” said Lamar.
Hammons stated Lamar serves the state not just the people of Tate County.
“Trey has done a lot for our community, but his commitment goes beyond just us. He's consistently worked to help people all across our state, proving that real leadership means serving everyone, not just a few,” said Hammons.
A full list of Tate County funding from 2020-2024, water associations receiving funding from across the state, the full statement from Cam Walker and the deeded property from Mike Massey to Tate County, and statewide funding projects can be found below.
“I want to say that it is not lost on me that in total these expenditures constitute a significant amount of taxpayer dollars that we are responsible for. Although I am very glad to help local governments with their real needs, I am just as proud to be leading the effort to cut and reform our tax system in Mississippi. I believe my work to reduce and hopefully eliminate the income tax in Mississippi will be recorded in history as one of the greatest achievements we secured for the people of our great state during my time in public office and I am honored to continue that fight for our hardworking people,” said Lamar.
